GameTrailers has details on plans to add a fifth playable class to Borderlands 2 via post-release DLC. The class is called the Mechromancer, a play on its ability to control mechanized units. Word is this will be launched for free a couple of month's after the role-playing shooter debuts in September, though it's added that this is a "day one purchase incentive," so it may not be free for those who dally in buying the game.

7.62WorldOrder wrote on Apr 9, 2012, 17:12:What annoys me is that they spent development time that could have been used on making the game better/more polished/less buggy for release and do this instead to try to wring a few more bucks out of people. The more successful this tactic is, the more it encourages developers to spend more time on DLC stuff during the "normal" development cycle. The percentage is going to go nowhere but up.

Of course the pirated version will have everything including the DLC characters available on day one.

Do I need to make a damn website explaining how the final stages of software devlopment, particularly software going on consoles, actually works. People seem to be under this misconception that developers are just tooling away making shit for a game up until they personally hand it off to people at midnight release parties.

Literally months before a game hits the shelves, all new development on a game completely stops. The majority of time spent fixing bugs and making sure a game passes TCR is done by programmers. The majority of designers and artists, the content creators, can continue to develop new content for future DLC, even in some cases having it ready to go on day one.

And that doesn't even appear to be the case here. They're talking about content that will be released months after the game launches.

I bought in on the Dues Ex bullshit and ended up with some of their DLC garbage.

What? DX3 was a great game regardless of DLC. The pre-order DLC was pretty insignificant, including the bonus mission. You didn't really miss out on anything. As for Missing Link, that was released after the core game and was pretty substantial.

My MO is to wait until a game hits the Steam sale at Xmas for 5-15 dollars, and then I buy it. Publisher's nightmare. If I only get 80% of the game for doing that, I won't buy it at all. Better to go back to the backlog of like 20 games I still have to get through from last year's sale. :-)

7.62WorldOrder wrote on Apr 9, 2012, 17:12:What annoys me is that they spent development time that could have been used on making the game better/more polished/less buggy for release and do this instead to try to wring a few more bucks out of people. The more successful this tactic is, the more it encourages developers to spend more time on DLC stuff during the "normal" development cycle. The percentage is going to go nowhere but up.

Of course the pirated version will have everything including the DLC characters available on day one.

If this was Day One DLC you might have a point, but given that this probably won't come out until 2 months after release, it's more likely that the character class isn't going to be ready on release, specifically because they have more important stuff to be doing.

What annoys me is that they spent development time that could have been used on making the game better/more polished/less buggy for release and do this instead to try to wring a few more bucks out of people. The more successful this tactic is, the more it encourages developers to spend more time on DLC stuff during the "normal" development cycle. The percentage is going to go nowhere but up.

Of course the pirated version will have everything including the DLC characters available on day one.

Dunkirk wrote on Apr 9, 2012, 14:49:It just goes to show that I really need to change my buying habits to only buy games when they finally go on sale, along with all the "DLC" that's been made, at once.

I think people are already doing that. I always hear the phrase "just wait for it go on sale."--relating to steam, even for--considered--top titles.

It just goes to show that I really need to change my buying habits to only buy games when they finally go on sale, along with all the "DLC" that's been made, at once. If I could ever delay a couple of big purchases for a year or so, I could just get back to buying games at normal pace. Plus, it would be easier on my hardware, as (on the average) I will have more time to have upgraded my machine.

I don't know where you get this "zero day" DLC. It says right on the news, will be coming for free a couple of months after it's launch. But it's most likly like BTK were you have to preorder/buy new to get it.

I guess I'll be waiting for awhile to play Borderlands 2, if I play it at all now. Zero Day DLC that adds a new class is where I draw the line. If it is really a "day one purchase incentive" on top of being Zero Day DLC, then I won't be buying this game at all.

Verno wrote on Apr 9, 2012, 10:48:It's going to be amusing when people go back to their old library in 10 years and try to play some of these games with a shitload of "day one" type DLC.

Valid point, but what games do you anticipate going back to in 10 years?

I don't know, I play a lot of older games. Do I need to have a specific list? Pretty much every game these days has some form of DLC so it could apply to most of them. The ones that use online activation methods to verify the DLC might not function in the future, that's the point

This is a Steamworks thing so I'm not really worried about it specifically, just meant generally.